Ptipois

Very good Pti; it also sounds tasty. I assume the linguini is itself made from cuttlefish ink. Now I suppose we could also add an appetizer of hard tack with kangaroo rilettes about 3 PM with a pint-aa. ← No, in my imagination the linguini is white linguini and the ink is in the sauce. There is no point in preparing black linguini with squid or cuttlefish ink sauce; better pick a different sauce in that case. It could also be chipirones en su tinta, perfect for a post-haka dinner.

A market in France is not, and never was, a place where all the products are supposed to have been grown by the vendors. Nobody expects that. It is a place to get fresh food, including fruit and vegetables, some grown by the vendors, some sold by good retailers. And there are also the butchers, fishmongers, cheap clothing and kitchenware stalls. And they have always been around. That fundamental difference between French markets and American farmers' markets was, in the thread about French country markets, the point that some had considerable difficulty to understand. Both institutions are so different in concept and in historical, social, etc., background, that I do not think they should be compared or any of them set as an example for the other. The only French institution that is similar to the American farmers' market, and comparable in social and historical value, is the "marché biologique", with several examples in the Paris region. But marchés biologiques are quite apart from regular markets.

I only wrote that La Maison de la Lozère served aligot and sausages on Thursdays and that they were so good that people went there especially for that dish... Not that the place stood only on one dish.

Linguini in cuttlefish ink, followed by blueberry fool.

The problem with French tomatoes is what I call the industrial-agrarian syndrome. As "forgotten" varietals are found again, the big fruit-and-vegetable company whose name starts with an S and which has taken the life out of perfectly decent strawberries, tomatoes, etc., pounces on them and turns them into their perfect likeness, only tasteless. That happened with the delicious cœur-de-bœuf tomatoes. A few years ago those tomatoes were "rediscovered" by small growers and restaurateurs, and I remember a fabulous salad of those tomatoes served by Camdeborde at La Régalade. Then shortly after the S... entity started growing and selling cœur-de-bœuf, which were pretty but as dull as any winter greenhouse tomato from Holland. The same thing happened with other varietals. Which did not make them any cheaper, how strange. The solution is to get tomatoes from markets, but still be vigilant. Apart from that tomatoes are not better in a country than in another, it all has to do with the way they are grown.

And if you want aligot and sausage, they're served on Thursdays. People order nothing else that day. Tables are hard to get. Whatever day of the week you want to go there, book ahead.

Absolutely not. And I do not see that in other food bloggers either. And whether I use a small pocket camera of a big Nikon reflex camera as I do now, that does not make any difference. If I never use a flash, it is primarily because it makes the photo look like crap. Yes it is agressive and annoying but that is only another good reason not to use one. As long as one does not use a flash and shows a minimum of discretion, I see no reason to be nervous about taking pictures in restaurants. Personally I have never taken a picture of a dish just to keep it as a souvenir. I always had publication of some sort in mind, whether it was followed by actual blogging or not. I do not see the point of taking a picture just for the picture's sake.

Hi stef, I would recommend an unsalted butter (doux) with a fresh and creamy taste. A Norman like the "Isigny doux" or Charentes-Poitou butter would do the job.

Personally I'd rather streak and run through the Champs-Élysées at 6 PM than take a flash photo in a restaurant.

I do agree with you, and that was implicit in my first reply to Daniel. I think there is a point here that should be very clear, at the risk of repeating myself. Two different types of food photography should be distinguished. When you look at advertising food photography you can wonder what exactly you're looking at. When you look at food photography in a book or magazine, you are looking at the real thing. Props and foams and artificial substitutes are very common in advertising photography. They are a no-no, as far as my experience goes (which includes testimonies from every food photographer I've met), in book and magazine food photography. As a stylist and sometimes photographer, and sometimes as a writer taking an active part in the photo sessions, I have helped on many books and never once did I see any fake ingredient being used for a shoot, except the odd prop in the form of folded cardboard helping something to stand up right. The very principle of non-advertising food photography is not to play tricks. It is perfectly possible to make any food look good, raw of cooked; it is all in the hands of the stylist and photographer. A few years ago I cooked a good number of dishes "en cocotte" for a book on the subject, now foods cooked in a Dutch oven are notoriously tricky — but all the dishes looked great. It's just that they were very well prepared, with the notion of the photo in mind at every stage of the preparation and cooking, and that the photographer was talented.

Do not get me wrong, I think your photos are perfect in their own right, and I was not reacting to your photography methods so much as I was commenting them in relation to Daniel Rogov's question and point of view. This was his question: So I was directly replying to that. As you write, your point is not to make a styled photo, or to make it acceptable for publication. And since they are very good even in those conditions, I was pointing out what would have been missing from them if they had to be used for professional use. Which is very little. (One of your pictures, actually, is missing nothing to be of professional quality — the fish with the cinnamon stick. The balance of light and shadow and the definition are very good in this one.) But going back to the subject — in that perspective, there is a difference between the white balance such as you want it to be, or as I would want it to be, and the white balance such as it would have been set for a book or a magazine picture. Of course. But the good food photographers I work with operate in available light and generally use reflectors. Hence my remark. That applies, of course, to situations of bright daylight. I made no mention of styling the food, only of turning the plate, which is quite a different matter. However, in food photography, there is a very wide gap between the plating the chef has chosen for the picture and the one that is actually desirable for the picture. That situation is well known by all stylists and photographers: the chef brings a plate "ready for the shoot" and the photographer/stylist has to modify the plating, sometimes considerably, sometimes entirely. It generally takes a little while until the chef understands why that has to be done. There is a definite difference between what looks good on a plate, restaurant-wise, and what looks good on a plate, photography-wise.

Well, if you mean spreading out on a blanket with 15 people and wine and such, no, they have signs all over about the precious grass. But to sit on a bench with one's honey sharing some charcuterie and cheese and wine, it works. But as I said there are lots of people around, it's not calm. ← Well by "picnic", I really meant a place where you may bring a basket, baguettes and a bottle, and spreading out a tablecloth, and realizing you have forgotten the can opener, etc. Sitting on a bench with your camembert is very nice but you can do that anywhere, not only in parks. I do not think picnicking is allowed on the lawns in parc Monceau, no more than it is in jardin du Luxembourg or in jardin des Plantes. What I'm referring to is picnic-friendly parks.

Yes, most that is needed now is Photoshop territory. A little job needs to be done on the white balance in the first and second photo, and the exposure should be corrected (too bright) in the third and fourth. Normally, in professional conditions (because this is the question Daniel asked in the first place; I'd never dream of posting this if he hadn't), a reflector of any sort (might even be a simple sheet of white paper) would have been used, especially on the fourth picture, to avoid shiny bits. Also professional photographers spend a little time turning the plate in one direction or another to find the best angle, and they do that in restaurants too (yes, some professional photographers do take pictures of their plates). For every plate, there is an ideal angle from which the food is supposed to appear and it is almost never the one at which it appears to you once the waiter has placed the plate in front of you. Nevertheless, these are great pictures for the equipment you used. For one thing I'd like to know the brand and model number of your camera...

Is it actually possible to picnic in parc Monceau? I had no idea. If so, by all means, yes! In that case, parc Montsouris and Buttes-Chaumont might be great options too

Yes, please. ← Okay, if I'm assured I'll make more than one person happy (I know John will be too), here goes: Picnic Parc André-Citroën, parc de Saint-Cloud Cup of tea Mariage Frères on rue du Bourg-Tibourg Néobistrot Le Pré Verre, Le Châteaubriand Southwest bistrot Chez l'Ami Jean Brasserie Balzar, L'Autobus Impérial Steak Le Relais de Venise Gaulois bistrot La Maison de la Lozère Three-star L'Arpège, L'Astrance Bourgeois bistrot Le Caméléon Wine bar Le Rubis Bar (period) Andy Wahloo Wine bar with a bite La Muse Vin A bite with wine Les Papilles Couscous L'Atlas

After the departure of the owner, M. Lacipière, Les Fontaines went severely downhill. I seem to remember that M. Lacipière left more than two years ago. I went there a few months after that and had a very bad meal. If it is any better now, the place has probably changed management several times since. Les Fontaines used to be one of the top bistrots in the 5e, and there are not many of them. A tip for you if you are in the neighborhood and crave a good French-style salad: La Maison de la Lozère (rue Hautefeuille) serves the best salade au roquefort in Paris. If you can find a table, that is.

One should never forget that bistrot is defined by price, which should be moderate (but not always). It is also defined by a particular décor, also shared by the brasserie to some extent: lots of mirrors, brass bars, Moleskine seats. But not always. The only permanent element of bistrot definition is that it is a Parisian phenomenon, descended from the bougnat — a place where wines, coals, firewood and cheap lunches used to be sold, always run by people from Auvergne or Rouergue (who still own most of the cafés in Paris) — and from the Parisian troquet or corner café, also traditionally run by Auvergnats. Traditional bistrot dishes are a mix of Auvergne dishes, cuisine bourgeoise and old Parisian cooking. I think John is right in his classification of bistrots. However I would not venture into giving my own classification here. I think it is already very hard to establish a typology of bistrots, restaurants, brasseries, so it would be even harder to pin them down as gastro, néo, tradi, etc., since most bistrots do a little or much of every genre. For instance L'Ami Jean (as used to be the case with Camdeborde's La Régalade) could be described as a bistrot traditionnel, but the chef is equally at ease with more innovative dishes. Le Pré Verre is definitely a néo-bistrot, since it does not serve petit salé aux lentilles but there is a touch of surprise from the chef in every dish. Is Le Caméléon néo or traditional, I could not tell. Sensing is quite néo but it is not a bistrot. Et cetera.

Technically La Biche au Bois is a "petit restaurant" in the French sense of the word, by some standards it could be referred to as a bistrot but it lacks some of the apparatus. Sorry I am not contributing to this thread in a more constructive way, I have a lot of trouble making that sort of list. Perhaps I should compose it according to personal criteria.

I'm afraid drinking any wine would conceal the delicate taste of butter. Baguette goes best with it, which is why I was suggesting it. Unfortunately my supplies of Saint-Coal butter will be exctinct by November 1.

Why salted only? There are many unsalted French butters, and most of the butter consumed in France is unsalted. Or you should have two different tastings, one for salted butter and another one for unsalted. Baguette is by far the best choice.

Thanks John! I would like to add that the menu (prepared from my own white hands) was steamed monkfish liver, Japanese style (ankimo), Turkish-style stuffed mackerel, Chinese tea eggs (cha ye dan) and various Persian pastries I had bought at the Iranian caterers on rue des Entrepreneurs (no way I could make those pastries as well as they do). Served with Iranian citrus-flavored red tea (a gift from a friend), Chinese shui xian oolong tea from Fujian, and a very rare, single-bush song zhong dan cong from Guangdong with notes of ripe mango and orange blossom. I have to mention that the book has beautiful photography from star photographer Isabelle Rozenbaum, whose blog may be seen here. The title photo on the blog is from La Table du thé.

As John says, I do, Clotilde does, every French person I know who has a food blog does. In France the phenomenon appeared with food blogs and seems restricted to it. However there is no notion of "appropriate" or "not appropriate", the question just didn't seem to rise before, and if a few restaurateurs mind, most of them do not. Most of them do not, some of them are terrible, some of them are of decent quality, a few of them are the work of professionals (food photographers, food stylists with some knowledge in photography), and some are beautiful. The quality of photos reflects the general quality of blogs. The point in having a blog is not reaching professional quality (except for the rare bloggers who wish to). Edit: I should point out that snapshots taken in a restaurant (whether for a blog or not) should not really be counted as food photography. No styling is done, you have to do it fast, you shoot what is served to you and that's it. You do not, as in food photography, organize the whole preparation, plating, lighting, etc., for the photo. This is a great difference which puts restaurant snapshots in the category of photoreportage (in the best of cases) rather than in any other. I loved the story of the pêche Melba with shaving cream; In France that kind of trick is never used in food photography for publishing (books or magazines), but it is common custom in advertising photography. The tricky part in advertising food styling is to know all the tricks, and in book photography the tricky part is not having to use any.

I guess that is what I was struggling to say; I think often (at least in the places I eat in, no stars) the waitpeople are asking if I liked it as a reflex and really aren't listening to the answer.It's like bus drivers and waitresses in London who say "thank you" whenever you say anything; it's automatic, like "ummm" or "ahhhhh". ← That is pretty much the case, most of the time they are not even listening. Which does not mean you should not reply and give them a taste of reality. In high end restaurants, though, they do listen. Hoping to close the subject on "bon appétit": in the book, you're not really supposed to say it, in real life nearly everybody says it. It does depend on the situation though. But whenever it is said, it is at the very beginning of the meal or never.

I have never dined at any of the Tantes. How was it?

Excuse my thickness, John, but what situation exactly are you referring to? A waiter asking you if everything was all right? If so, you should take it at face value. If something was wrong, that is the moment to say so, whatever face they pull when you do. If you say "banal" they are likely to be dumbfounded, they are used to yes or no answers (more often yes than no). As for "bonne continuation", every time I hear it I feel the way I do when I get a spam phone call from the antipodes asking me if I want to know about a great way to reduce my taxes. In French, it sounds so phony.